Colt Army Special
The Colt Army Special was a pistol designed by Colt to replace the various over-complicated models of Colt New Army & Navy revolvers. It was in production from 1908 to 1927 in hopes of securing a military contract. The United States Army instead adopted the Colt M1909 New Service Revolver in .45 Long Colt and later the Colt M1911 Self-Loading Pistol in the .45 ACP cartridge after extensive trials. It soon became apparent that the military were not likely to adopt a .38-caliber revolver in large numbers. However, there was still a lot of interest in the pistol from the American Law Enforcement community, which were ususally armed with .32-caliber revolvers. To that end it was renamed the Colt Official Police in 1927 and was in production under that name until 1969. To set it apart from the Army model the bluing was in a bright rather than matte finish, checkering was added to the trigger, and the v-notch rear sight was widened. The topstrap was treated with a matte finish to reduce glare. During World War Two, Colt had two major contracts for the Official Police. From 1940 to 1941 the British Government purchased a large number through Lend Lease as a substitute for the Enfield No. 2. They were stock models chambered in .38 Smith & Wesson (AKA British Service .38/200) that had a 5-inch barrel, checkered wooden grips, and a lanyard ring. In 1942 the US Government procured a simplified version of the Official Police, initially for use by Military Policemen and security guards, that was dubbed the Colt Commando. It had a 4-inch barrel and plastic "Coltwood" grips, lacked the checkering on the trigger, hammer, and cylinder latch and the anti-glare treatment on the topstrap, and had a parkerized finish. The Ordnance Corps' "Flaming Bomb" property mark was embossed on the left-hand side of the frame. A snub-nosed version with a 2-inch barrel dubbed the Junior Commando was used by intelligence personnel. Specifications :Production: 1908-1927 (Army Special); 1927-1969 (Official Police) :Type: Medium-Frame Revolver :Calibers: .22 Long Rifle Rimfire x 15mm RF (1927-1969), .32-20 Winchester Center-Fire (.32-20 WCF, AKA ".32 Colt Lightning") x 33.4mm R (1908-1942), .38 Short Colt (.38 SC) x 19.4mm R (1908-1927?), .38 Long Colt (.38 LC) x 26mm R (1908-1927?), .38 Smith & Wesson (.38 S&W, AKA ".38 Colt New Police") R (1927-1947), .38 Special x 29mm R (1908-1969), .41 Long Colt (.41 LC) x 29mm R (1908-1938). :Weight: lbs ( kg) :Lengths: in. ( cm) :Barrel length(s): 4-in. (10.2 cm), 4.5-in. (11.5 cm), 5-in. (12.7 cm), or 6-in. (15.3 cm). :Capacity: 6-round cylinder :Fire Modes: Double-action. :Sights: Fixed iron (Blade front, V-notch rear) :Standard Furniture: Hard rubber grips with molded Colt insignia (1908-1923), walnut-wood grips with inset silver-metal Colt medallion (1923-1947; 1954-1969), plastic "Coltwood" grips with molded-in silver-metal Colt medallion (1947-1954). The Army Special had a matte-blued or nickel-plated finish, two-piece hard rubber or wooden grips, and was chambered in .32-20, .38 Special, and .41 Long Colt. It had the identifying text "Army Special" etched on the left side of the barrel. The cylinder rotated clockwise, as per Colt's patent - Smith & Wesson's revolver cylinders had to rotate counter-clockwise due to this. The hammer and the cylinder release catch on the left side of the frame were checkered to allow the thumb a positive grip when in use. The "Positive Lock" safety prohibited the firing pin from engaging unless the trigger was pulled. Background In ''Moonraker'', Bond has a 6-inch barreled Army Special stowed in the glove compartment of his 1930 Bentley. Category:Weapons Category:Pistols Category:Moonraker weapons